Candles of Hope
by littlevanillabear
Summary: Recently introduced to the new world of demigods and the idea of there being multiple gods, Nina Martinez and Kesiette Reed find themselves seeking refuge in Camp Half-Blood when a day at school goes haywire. The question remains whether these two candles of hope can hold up to everyone's expectations, or bring everyone down with their failures. Only time can tell... right?
1. Finding the Haven

"I can't go any farther," Nina panted, dropping to her knees as she stared around the never ending forest. Her eyes looked blank, tired, her pretty face sagging as she openly panted, staring at the back of her best friend's back, who didn't seem tired at all. "Kesi?"

"I'm thinking," Came the harsh reply, the girl plotting her hands on her waist. Kesi was impossibly tiny – some back at Frederick High School would dare to cross her and call her a midget – but tiny or not, she was one hell of a determined girl, her posture strong and strangely, lifting her friend's dying faith. Nina could have sworn that they would end up dying in the forest of Hell, considering that they had been running for hours already. Her stick, now that she gave it a good look, didn't seem to be out of ordinary. The fact that she had managed to fry one of the monster's asses with it still hadn't processed through her brain yet.

"How far are we?" Nina asked, looking up from the stick she decided to name Fryer for the hell of it, her eyes staring onto the back of her friend's dark brown curls. She knew that she was starting to test her patience, but it was an inevitable question. Nina knew she wouldn't make it any farther, especially if Kesi started to say something like 'a mile' or '30 minutes of walking'. She'd faint right there and then, and wasn't afraid to admit it.

"For fucks sake, Nina–" The girl hissed, anger obvious in her voice. "I don't _fucking _know!"

"Geez, sorry, dwarf." Nina snapped back, feeling her heart return back to its usual pace. She didn't like fighting with Kesi, considering how the girl seemed to have an entire arsenal of curse words hidden somewhere in her curly head. She had a talent of intimidating people.

"I'm sorry," Kesi's soft voice returned, turning her head to stare at her best friend. Nina didn't even bother to raise an eyebrow at her friend's unexpected apology, only closing her eyes as she let the sound of nature sway her. She was exhausted, and no matter how much crap Kesi spewed up, so was she. Besides, they were long far from those weird monster mutations; a small nap was more than needed. "I'm trying to think, and my heart is like, in my throat or something–"

"I would be worried if it weren't," Nina sighed, slapping her hand against her heart. "Mine is going crazy."

"Same here," Kesi's tone turned back into that girly, innocent and normal tone – the one that pissed Nina off for some reason. Nina's own voice was too mature for her age, and it annoyed her that Kesi's was too immature for _her_ age. It's like God decided that she would bless her friend with the exact opposite personality for shits and giggles. Kesi was hardcore and tough; Nina was girly and cowardly, as much as she hated to admit it. She heard leaves rustle as Kesi took a seat next to her, taking her hand and holding it for dear life. "I don't know where that stupid camp is. We've been going at the same direction that little shit directed us for more than an hour, and we haven't seen anything. I'm starting to worry that this is some stupid Halloween trick or something."

"It can't be," Came Nina's assured response, blindly lifting up her stick. "Or else Fryer wouldn't have karate-chopped that monster's butt off."

"Fryer? Seriously?"

"It fits it," Nina said, shrugging. "Hey, think we can take a nap?"

"No way," Kesi's voice returned, waking her from nearly falling asleep right then and there. "We've got to make it to that camp before nightfall and this turns into a twisted, scarier version of Slender."

"You and your stupid video games," Nina grumbled, opening her eyes slowly. Sure enough, the sun was starting to set, a beautiful gradient settling on the sky. It seemed like it was years ago that those creatures interrupted the assembly back at FHS, nearly murdering Kesi and Nina. Sadly enough, it had been in the early hours of the morning – 9, or 10 – and she was pretty sure it was almost 7 in the afternoon. "Kesi, I need to pee."

"No one's stopping you," Kesi responded, a small giggle coming from her.

"I'm not about to pee in a forest when the sun is starting to set!" Nina nearly yelped, horrified at the thought. "Especially not in a forest. Oh God, when did my life come to this? Just a couple of hours ago I was crying and whining about Frederick's dirty bathrooms and now I just wish I was–"

"Nina, I have a pounding headache, and you're making it worse." Kesi said, her mood quickly changing as she glared at her. Nina quickly noticed that her friend's California tan looked much paler than it usually was, worrying her.

"You feeling okay, Kesi?"

"Peachy. You know, save the whole monster thing and we're stuck in a never ending forest."

"I'm scared." Nina finally admitted, watching the sun set as she held on tighter on her friend's tiny hand. "What do you think they're doing back at Frederick?"

"I don't know," Kesi said, her voice soft and hesitant. "No one else saw those monsters but us. Maybe they saw murderers, or something. Maybe the police are over there, trying to find out what went on and why the auditorium looks like a dump."

"D'you think they've noticed our absence?"

"Well, considering that you were openly fighting one of those things, I'm pretty sure they have."

Nina shook her head, willing it to ignore the returning images of her pathetic fight with the thing she can only refer to as a monster. This same morning, she had stumbled over a sturdy branch, and had tucked it into her backpack for safekeeping for a reason she couldn't remember, only to use it to fry a monster's ass. If she hadn't tripped over that branch…

She shook her head, ignoring the chant of voices in her mind that yelled, _you'd be dead_.

The whole fight was a blur in her head. All she knew was that her ADHD ass decided to bounce onto one of the things, rearing its attention from Kesi to her, and then everything went downhill from there. She was only watching out for her best friend, who was one trip to the principal's office from being officially expelled from the school. She was pretty sure that her delinquent act would go down on her record, ruining her near-perfect GPA. She almost felt the need to stab herself with Fryer at that very moment, but with a squeeze from Kesi, she realized that she didn't regret what she had done.

What she _did_ regret, however, was to have the entire school witness her heroic and idiotic act of bravery.

She nearly shivered. Sam and his crew of jocks were sitting nearby Kesi and her, and he looked super good this morning – she'd never live it down. He was probably was laughing about her, calling her 'Tarzan-Woman', forever ruining her chances with him. Sure, save the fact that the entire auditorium was filled with panicked yells and running students, she was pretty sure a good couple watched her fight the stupid thing.

Kesi had been who had saved her from further humiliation, thank God. She had grabbed a nearby stick from the set behind the stage's curtains, smacked the living shit out of the monster that Nina had been hanging on for dear life, and from there, Nina had fried it with her magical stick. Kesi had stared at her in amusement and horror, but that was when Nina took her hand and they booked it. It was clear as water that the monsters were after both of them – all of those things, coming from different directions, were heading straight for the girls. It was survival instinct that kicked in.

They didn't get far, because it was obvious that someone upstairs had a vendetta against Nina. She was never the fastest runner, but Kesi was, and that obviously irritated both parties. Something had grabbed Kesi from where she was, which was far upfront, and Nina was faced with the task of finding her friend, fearing for her life, and also avoiding the monsters that were quickly catching up to them, all while still wrecking havoc in the high school. It was barely five minutes later that Kesi joined up once more, apparently with some sort of holy message telling them where they would be safe.

They had managed to make it out of the school and ran straight into the forest across it, never looking back.

Nina hadn't gotten the chance to contemplate on her life until now. She had left her father and her baby brother behind, without a clue of where she had gone, and she knew that her father was going to freak, just like he always did when she ran off with Kesi somewhere. But it was too late to worry about them, or at least, not the appropriate time. Her friend had started to stand up, brushing any dirt off her leggings as she helped her up, and both of them started their trek towards the north, once again.

Her white sundress and tan pumps were once comfortable and made her feel girly and pretty this morning, but at that very moment, all she wanted to do was rip the stupid dress of her body and throw the heels into a body of water and drag herself to their destination. Her hair was loose and was sticking to her face thanks to the stupid sweat that had started to accumulate all over. She was pretty sure she smelled like butt.

She glared at her best friend, who, in the opposite side, wore something that looked very comfortable. Black leggings, a matching corset top and also black Jordans. Her tight, stern-looking bun was the only thing that Nina had considered odd, but otherwise, it was same old Kesi. And she hated her at that moment, for being such a slouch and never caring about what others thought about her. She knew for a fact that Kesi's stern mother would have her head if she had seen the corset top she was wearing, but if she cared, she didn't show.

After this whole problem, Nina made a mental note to confront her on her mom issues.

Half an hour later, moonlight and cool air surrounding them and lighting the way, she watched her midget friend leap out of the blue and turn around, an unusual smile pressed to her face. "There's something over there!"

"What? An abandoned Wal-Mart truck?" _Filled with mattresses, size 7 clothes, and flats?_

"Don't be such an ass, Nina. I'm pretty sure those are wood pillars!"

"Oh no. What if you're leading me to a site where you'll offer me as a sacrifice?" Nina said playfully, nudging her friend who simply rolled her eyes, tugging her friend's hand. She slapped down her disappointment, but wherever they were going, there had to be clothing.

"Come on. I can feel it, we're close." Her excitement is audible and completely unlike her, but for some reason, it's infectious.

"Whatever you say, messenger of God."

"Shut _up_, Nina!"

* * *

First chapter! Not my best, and short, but I wanted to get a bit of their back story established before starting on the actual plot line. This chapter was done in Nina's perspective – 3rd person, but still her perspective – so the next one should be in Kesi's perspective. Wow, it's been a while since I've written, and since this is my first story, hopefully it doesn't disappoint. Canon characters _will_ appear. The story takes place before HoO and after the last installment of PJATO, just to clarify. You'll find out more about Kesi and Nina in the upcoming chapters.

Started this to occupy myself for the summer, hopefully I can keep working on it at a good pace before school starts again. Don't forget to review or fave if you enjoyed this chapter! I'd love me some positive feedback. I'll be shedding some light on their situation on the next chapter. Thanks for reading!


	2. Recuperating

The only thing her mind could process was the loud pounding sound that was going on in her head. It was loud, merciless, and ongoing, showing no signs of stopping anywhere in the future. She wanted to cry out to Nina, or her stupid mother, or someone that could put an end to her misery. Her eyes didn't feel like opening or ever seeing sunlight again, so she blindly sat up, only to feel shooting, white pain cross her shoulders.

She let out a loud yelp, biting down tears and forcing a strong face. _You can do this_, she chanted in her head, opening one eye testily.

She tried her hardest to ignore the pain coming from her right shoulder, reaching with a weak hand to touch it. She winced, sucking in a deep breath as she observed the area where she currently laid.

A comfy, low cot. A first aid kit on the end table next to her. A cozy, warm fire in the corner. More medicine lying in a table across from her cot. Neighbor cots were set to her side, but aside from a snoring boy that was 4 cots away, she was alone. There wasn't much to admire. It was a plain, small space – obviously used for medicinal purposes – it was cozy, and it was most likely a basement, and there would be a murderer sitting upstairs, waiting for her to wake up, ready to skin her alive.

_Where the fuck is Nina?_

"I wouldn't move if I were you," A voice piped from her right. She turned suddenly, her shoulder sending another piercing amount of pain through her whole body. She shivered, clamping her mouth shut. She peered at the back of what seemed to be a tall guy – from the looks of it, 17 or 18. He was dressed casually, wearing an orange shirt and khaki shorts, along with a pair of beat up converse. She looked him up and down (professionally, obviously) before falling back on the cot, another slap of stupid pain going through her once again.

"You're going to murder me, aren't you?" She hissed, using her other, less pained hand to place it on her face. She was done. She led poor Nina to a death trap. She should known better than to listen to that shifty little kid. She was fucked. It was the _Human Centipede_ all over again. And the surgeon role was filled by this possibly attractive young-looking man. Oh man, she was _totally _fucked. This was worse than Slender, alright.

"No," His voice came, sounding confused. Masculine, husky. She could easily tell that this guy went through puberty happily and did not come out sounding like a demonic teletubby, like her cousin Josh did. She was still traumatized by his voice and appearance to this day, but this was the worst moment to be thinking of teletubbies. "Why would I do that?"

"Gee, I have no idea," She responded sarcastically, shifting her eyes to give his turning back a hopefully very threatening look. "I'm in a cabin with an unconscious person and a guy, all alone in what could be a very large forest. For all I know, you could be one of those weird murderers who keep cabins in a forest to keep from having people suspect you."

The guy might as well have a large question mark hanging over his head.

He turned, and she felt like someone had knocked the air out of her. And not in the particularly bad way.

He was like those stereotypical blonde quarterbacks you'd see in those sappy chick flicks. Tall, muscular but not too much that he looked like a bodybuilder, a handsome face, scruffy blonde hair, Carolina blue eyes. He had one hell of a cute tan, too. She had to swallow back the urge to call him Ken, but it was a losing battle. He was _attractive_, but she wouldn't hesitate to beat him to pulp if he tried anything fishy.

Her eyes fell down to his shirt, where it read 'Camp Half-Blood'.

Oh great, she had stumbled into a nest of swarming hormonal kids in a _camp_. Or maybe this dude had taken the shirt from one of his victims, she'd probably never know.

"I'm not going to murder you," He laughed, coming to her side. She felt herself inch away instinctively, only to have her shoulder remind her with a big, mental _fuck you _that it was still in pain. All the blaring alarms in her head screamed for her to run, but considering that her messed up shoulder was saying the exact opposite, she took her chances and settled for glaring at him. Besides, the cot was comfy.

He was immune to her glare, instead flashing his pearly, perfect white teeth. Shit, he was cute. _Resistance, Kesi! _"I'm Cain, part of the Apollo cabin," He responded with ease, obviously not caring how she would react when he touched her shoulder. She tried to slap him, and instead, ended up falling off the cot to get out of his reach, landing on her bad shoulder. The inevitable happened – curse words came out in a loud and very violent stream, and she was pretty sure she was sobbing.

_So much for fucking resistance, you weak shit, _she heard her mind snap, and she couldn't agree anymore. She was mentally scolding herself. She scared him off, she was sure, but all she heard was a laugh. She felt herself being lifted and laid back in the cot, causing her to distract herself momentarily from her ungraceful fall and wondering whether gravity decided to break for her sake. Wait – it was _Cain_ – and with smiling eyes but a worried expression, he checked her wound.

"Are you okay?" He asked, being very careful as he unwrapped her bandages. She bit down her sobs and settled for sharp sniffs as she continued to glare at the wall. Noticing that she had no plans to talk to him, he cleared his throat, wrapping her shoulder with new bandages. "Your friend – uh, Nina – came earlier to check on you. She's worried about you."

"She's okay?" She asked, throwing her head to the side to look at him. He didn't expect the reaction; that much was obvious on his face, but he quickly coughed, nodding. "Good… I was worried."

"Don't need to be. Camp Half-Blood is pretty safe," He responded, handing her a small cube. Her _what the fuck is this _expression much have been obvious, because he smiled as he nodded at her. "It's ambrosia, a small portion. It heals demigods and gods."

She had started to nibble it out of curiosity, but once he finished talking, she was spitting it out her mouth, throwing it across the room and throwing him her best confused look. "Did you just say _demigod_?"

After what had happen back at Frederick's, she had no idea why she even bothered to question the asshole anymore. Hell, at this rate, she'd accept the fact that demons and angels existed, as ridiculous as it sounded. She wanted to hit her head against the wall, wondering if she was having a particularly bad dream and was stuck with Ken and a sleeping beauty a couple cots away. She felt herself suddenly sag, tired and exhausted. She wanted to sleep, and she wished she had just eaten the stupid cube.

Ken didn't seem fazed. "Yup. What'd you think Camp Half-Blood stood for?"

She didn't want to say. She was starting to have a hard time believing whether Ken actually had brains or not. She needed someone going through the same situation, someone that could understand her, not Ken's living impersonation. _Nina_. Her heart throbbed for her best friend. She threw him a wary look as he passed her another cube, smiling.

"Eat up. Chiron should be here soon, to talk to you."

"What happened to me?" It came out before she could properly process it, her eyes never leaving his. His eyes were too blue, if that were even possible. Everything was starting to take a blurry shade, and she didn't even bother to lift herself up again.

"You got shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Nathanael mistook you for a monster, so he shot. It wasn't until Nina started screaming that he realized that he shot a person. He feels really bad," Cain-slash-Ken responded, patting her good shoulder with a sympathetic look on his face. "You should get some sleep. The ambrosia will kick in and you'll feel much better in no time."

The last thing she could remember was the fact that she had eaten a demigod snack, and idly wondered whether if she was going to die. Her eyes caught a tattoo of a sun hidden beneath Cain-slash-Ken's back hair before closing.

* * *

"…It's the honorable thing, Nate,"

"Dude, are you seriously blaming me for shooting a figure that looked _a lot _like a monster? It's not my fault she decided to waltz into camp believing she wouldn't get shot down."

"She's my _best friend_! If she doesn't murder you, _I _will!"

"Children! Please! I believe she's gaining consciousness."

"She's going to murder you once she finds out."

"I'd love to see her _try_."

A growl rose from the only person Kesi knew well enough in her current situation. She could immediately tell that there were 4 people in the room – Nina, Ken, a dude named Nate (the dick bag who shot her, she suddenly remembered) and possibly the guy Ken mentioned earlier… Cheetos? She couldn't put her finger on it. No, wait, it definitely wasn't Cheetos – crap, she was hungry. It was _Chiron_.

She wanted to cozy up against the cot and hide from everyone's expectant eyes, but she knew that it would be a coward move. She lazily opened her eyes, catching sight of what seemed to be an orange shirt situated on a girl. She rose her eyes and met Nina, who looked happy and relieved, but also pissed off. To her right was a guy she didn't recognize – perhaps Ken's age. A much older dude stood next to Anonymous dude, who she could easily tell, was Chiron.

"Hello, Kesiette. I am Chiron," She had guessed the guy right. But what had her staring and gaping like a fish out of water was the fact that the guy was half-dude, half-horse… or whatever. Words faltered as she stared at his bottom half, fear starting to sink into her system. Nina seemed to have gotten used to it, not giving him a second look, but she couldn't help but think it would have probably been best to not traumatize a girl with a wounded shoulder with his… God, what could she call this? No, forget that, what was currently troubling her was how he figured out her name. It was probably Nina, the dimwitted little–

"Kesi," Nina snapped, throwing her best friend a scolding look.

"Its fine, I'm used to it," Chiron smiled kindly.

"S–sorry," Kesi heard herself mumble. _You can always count on Nina to knock some fuckin' manners into you. _"Nice kicks."

"Oh gods," Nina hissed, face palming herself as Ken suppressed a laugh, Anon dude looking mildly amused. Chiron actually smiled, rescuing Kesi from further humiliation. _Shit_, that ambrosia must have been pretty powerful to have her in a haze even after she had woken up.

"Ah, uh, sorry… again," Kesi grumbled. "Go on."

"I see you've met Cain and Nathanael," He said, gesturing at Anon dude and Ken. She nodded slowly, narrowing her eyes at the latter, who looked unfazed. "Nathanael was the one that shot you."

"So, it was you," She said, her eyes still narrowed. He just rolled his eyes, but he gave off a small hint that he was uncomfortable under her gaze. She couldn't exactly pinpoint whether he felt bad for nearly killing her, but she wasn't going to let it cloud her mind. At least, not while half-man, half-horse was eagerly waiting for her to finish talking with… Nate. "Nice to know."

No reaction, just a stare. With a purpose.

"Okay," Chiron said, smile gone once he realized that no one was going to apologize. "I want to officially welcome you to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigods, children of the Olympian gods."

"Greek gods?" Kesi said, turning her head towards Nina. She was one hell of a committed Catholic – why wasn't she damning the half-horse man? Said girl only looked at him attentively, no sign of opening her mouth to object or something of that sort. _Definitely not Nina-esque._

"Precisely. They are not dead… in fact; they still live, and are currently residing on the top of the Empire State Building, in New York City. They are very powerful, but their powers surround certain things, like for example, Poseidon's powers center on the ocean. Athena's powers surround wisdom and skill, among many other small factors. Catching my drift?"

What the hell was she supposed to do? She nodded.

"All the children in this camp have a missing parent or don't know one of their biological parents." _Dad_. "That's because one of their parents happen to be one of the gods of Olympus, or a minor one. However, it's mostly the twelve gods and goddesses in Mount Olympus. Cain here is son of Apollo, god of the Sun, Light, Music and many other things. Nate is son of Aphrodite–"

She couldn't stop the snort from coming out of her. Nate, if possible, looked like the exact opposite of what she imagined a modern offspring of Aphrodite could look like – he looked dangerous, unpredictable, and certainly not wearing any sort of designer brands on himself. It took a glare from him to shut her up and cause her laughter to die.

"–I can't exactly determine who your parents will be," Chiron said, eyes darting at both Nina and Kesi. The look Kesi threw to Nina looked preposterous, as if she couldn't believe that Chiron was actually saying what he was actually saying. Since forever, the topic of Kesi's father has been nothing but a dead end between her mother and herself, and resulted into nothing but one hell of a beating from Kesi to a poor kid at school if they suggested something that didn't settle well with her. Nina knew all about it – she felt the same, just not as passionately as Kesi. It's what bonded the two girls to each other; their lack of a mother or a father, and the fact that they ditched before they were even born. It was a touchy subject for Kesi, so Nina threw her a glare to keep her from clawing at Chiron, who didn't seem to notice. "But the time will come when your parent decides to mark you."

"Mark?" Nina squeaked.

"Some sort of mark to claim you," Nate responded, ignoring Chiron and Ken's looks of disapproval.

"That sounds terrible," Kesi couldn't help but say. "I mean, seriously. They have to _mark _you? Am I the only one who thinks that just isn't right?"

"Hush, Kesi," Nina mumbled, but Kesi could tell that the girl agreed with her, even if she didn't bother to openly support her in anyway.

"They should man up and just outright say it," Kesi continued, ignoring her best friend. "Like… I don't know, maybe when the kid is old enough to realize the lack of a father… or mother. It's a humane and reasonable thing to do, no need to skirt around it."

"I see you happen to be passionate about the topic." Chiron said lightly. She could have sworn she saw a look of approval in Nate's eyes, but she ignored it, nodding and offering a raised eyebrow.

"Who wouldn't," She mumbled, falling back on her cot softly, cautious of her still wounded shoulder. Exhaustion started to sink in once more, to her annoyance. What exactly did that tiny piece of ambrosia do to her? Suck the little energy left out of her system? "Just – just get it over with. I'm getting tired staying in bed."

Nina scoffed, but Kesi ignored it.

"Right. Well, thanks to to a certain son of Poseidon, you won't have to trouble yourself with waiting too long for your parent to claim you, especially now that you are here in Camp Half-Blood. Nina took her time to explain what went on and how you girls arrived here, but when you're feeling better, I'm going to ask for your side of the story. Annabeth should be here soon to escort you girls around camp. I trust you're feeling better than before, yes?"

Another weak-ish nod.

"I'll see you girls at dinner, then," He smiled, trotting off towards the door and leaving Kesi to deal with Nina and the guys, not to mention her tangled up and confused thoughts. That never really was a good thing, was it?

* * *

Another chapter up! Kesi's perspective this time. Not much going on other than Kesi's lopsided recuperation from taking an arrow to the shoulder, and introducing two plot-essential characters. And, as you may or may have not noticed, Kesi is a bit more on the aggressive and overly imaginative side. Take a guess on who her godly parent may be?

There's most likely a bunch of grammar mistakes, but this was done in a bit of a hurry. I'm looking forward to publishing twice a week, to set up a good pace.

Thanks for reading, and remember to review! xo


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